


Maintenance

by Locknkey1



Series: Eye of the Beholder [1]
Category: Welcome to Night Vale
Genre: Angst, Disabled Character, Gen, Hurt No Comfort, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Torture, M/M, Pain, Strexcorp is Evil, kevin is sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-24
Updated: 2019-11-24
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:13:24
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,126
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21549688
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Locknkey1/pseuds/Locknkey1
Summary: What if Carlo's double was a horrible person? What if Charles was a Strexcorp scientist in charge of Kevin? What if the reason Kevin suggested that Strexcorp could fix Janice's legs was because they did it to him?
Relationships: Charles/Kevin (Welcome to Night Vale)
Series: Eye of the Beholder [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1553263
Comments: 4
Kudos: 41





	Maintenance

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first post on Ao3 and I am new to the WTNV fandom. No beta, just me and Grammarly.

A soft whimper echoed in the sterile laboratory. 

"Kevin. If you continue to move, I may be forced to start over again. Do you want that to happen?" 

"N-no, sir."

"Then stop moving." Sigh. "Once I am finished, you can have a short break. Okay?"

"Yes, sir. I won't move again, sir."

A pleased hum is the scientist's only response. He turns back to an array of tools, all of which look vaguely threatening. After a moment, Charles simply picks up a small, unnecessarily sharp, screwdriver. The man in a lilac labcoat with a beautiful smile and teeth like a Steinway turned to his favorite test subject and surveyed his work. 

Number 6027, or Kevin as he liked to be called, was Charles's favorite test subject because, legally, Kevin was not an employee of Strexcorp. According to Strexcorp records, Number 6027 was grown and genetically altered by Strexcorp from inception. As such, Kevin was legally defined as a humanoid Strexpet. Therefore, Charles didn't have to worry about being arrested for infringing because of those pesky human rights laws. They didn't apply to Number 6027.

Charles was very pleased with Number 6027's progress. When he was first taken into Strexcorp's loving arms, Kevin was very rebellious. It took many months of re-education and the complete removal of the patellar ligaments in both his knees for Kevin to become a devoted disciple of the Smiling God. Unfortunately, Number 6027 lost most of his memories and had to be... re-trained and encouraged to have the same chipper attitude on the air and in public that he used to have. 

In the place of his old patellar ligaments, two small Strextech smart prostheses reconnected Kevin's patella and tibia. On the back of his skull, just below his hairline, a small device was implanted. It injected Kevin with a 100 ml dose of uppers every time his serotonin levels were low. A thin metal belt around Number 6027's waist monitored the three devices implanted in him. If he did anything that displeased a ranking member of Strexcorp, a large and continuous electric charge would be released from the belt, shocking Kevin back into submission. 

Early that morning, Charles was informed that the implant in Number 6027's left leg had started glitching. The prosthesis had been emitting a small shock to the test subject's leg at random intervals, reducing his productivity. After Number 6027 collapsed on his way to the broadcasting booth, Strexcorp Station Management decided that the prosthesis needed to be fixed. By the time Charles was lead into the lab, the intervals between shocks had decreased. To reduce Number 6027's movement during the surgery, he was restrained with bands around his neck, waist, wrists, and ankles. Kevin was not given any anesthetics, general or local. Management was not happy that Number 6027 had to miss a broadcast, and as such, Kevin was not given the luxury of painkillers. 

The small jerks and shudders that Number 6027 made during the surgery, displeased Charles. He was slightly tempted to use a general anesthetic on the test subject but trusted the Smiling God's judgment. After bargaining with Kevin and tightening his restraints, almost all of the unnecessary movements had stopped. 

After an amount of time that was not large nor small, Charles was finished fixing the prosthesis. He didn't bother stitching Kevin's knee back up. The Smiling God, or rather Strexcorp, blessed Number 6027 with a healing speed several times faster than the average Bluffian. Within minutes, the gaping wound had closed itself, and only a thin white scar was left in its place. 

After releasing Kevin from his restraints, Charles guided the barely conscious man into the upright position and pulled his legs over the edge of the table. 

"Kevin? Kevin, you need to sit up straight." After receiving only a blank stare as an answer, the scientist tapped a button on his Strexcorp issued wristwatch.

A gut-wrenching scream echoed through the lab. 

"Now, Kevin. You know that, if you don't behave, you have to be punished. If you aren't good, you disappoint the Smiling God, and have to be corrected." The scientist said with a faux patient smile.

The test subject continued screaming, unable to comprehend the words Charles was saying.

With an exasperated sigh, the scientist pressed the same button as before, and the screaming stopped.

"There. Now, will you behave?"

"Y-yes, sir-r." Number 6027 promised, frantically nodding his head and sitting up straight. 

"Good." Seeing that his test subject was no longer being disobedient, Charles grabbed a reflex hammer. After testing Kevin's right leg as the control group, he checked the reaction of the left leg. The prosthesis was now as good as new.

"I promised you a break, didn't I?" 

"Yes, sir. Please, sir." The only time Kevin received any rest was during his allotted four hours of sleep every two days. He could no longer remember a time before Strexcorp and their Smiling God. A time before constant pain and never-ending smiles.

"Very well, you can have a short break. However... you did cause me a significant amount of trouble. Your disobedience wasted much of my valuable time." Charles gently chided as a flash of malice crossed the scientist's face. 

"S-sir, please n-" "Ah-ah, Kevin. It is unproductive for you to argue. You want to be productive for the Smiling God, right?" His saccharine-sweet tone sent a shudder down Kevin's back, old memories of re-education rising to the surface. 

"Kevin? Come here."

\----------

Forty-five minutes later, a scientist wearing a lilac labcoat walked out of Lab 205. That scientist was whistling a tune from a long-forgotten children's show and walking with a slight bounce in his step. The Cheshire grin stretching his face matched his eyes, eyes that were black as night and as hard as obsidian. 

Curled up under the table in Lab 205, was a man whose favorite color was yellow. Tears silently fell from his eyes on to the concrete floor. On the floor next to the crying man sat a digital timer, counting down slowly from fifteen minutes. 

In fifteen minutes, a chipper radio host would walk out of Lab 205, appearing not to have a care in the world. His mouth would be stretched into a wide Cheshire grin, and his eyes would be as black as the void. He would greet Lauren, and the new intern, with a wave and a cheery reminder to be productive. Then, Kevin would step into the radio studio and sit at his bloody desk, turn on the mic, and greet Desert Bluffs with a happy tone that he does not feel. Life would go on. 

But at that moment, while the timer slowly counted down, Kevin was free to cry. No one would ever know.

Right?

**Author's Note:**

> I am sorry Kevin.
> 
> You can yell at me in the comments if you want to.


End file.
